The Last Year
by Rifu-ko
Summary: Just when Hanako thought that her last year in high school as a transfer student would be a little miserable, she met her childhood friends.
1. An old friend

Oikawa was not interested in what high school school Kageyama Tobio was attending. Not even a bit.

The reason why he was sandwiched among a group students trying to browse through the first-year freshman's name list at the very first day of school had nothing to do with Kageyama. As the new captain of the volleyball team, he was just looking at the list to see if he could spot any familiar faces.

.

Kindaichi Yutaro

.

Kunimi Akira

.

Seems like we have a pretty promising bunch this year, he thought to himself as his lips curled up.

After going through the entire list, Kageyama Tobio was no where to be found. He would deny till the end of the world that he felt somewhat relief. Then the realization that Kageyama would probably attend Shiratorizawa hit him. His eyes narrowed at the idea of playing against the two person he liked the least, at the same time.

"Don't care! We're going to win and get into the national anyways!" Oikawa declared to no one in particular as he squeezed out of the crowd.

"Is that a senpai? He is so cute!" A new student elbowed her friend as the volleyball captain walked by.

"I think so...but why is he talking to himself?"

* * *

Hyuga Hanako was nervous.

She left Miyagi for Tokyo when her dad found a new job six years ago. Mr. Hyuga was promoted last month and the company decided to have him take charge of a division in Miyagi. Hence, the reason why she was now standing inside of Aoba Josai high school.

Changing school in the last year of high school was no fun. You would have to spend time getting used to a new environment, which the same time and energy should have been used to prepare for college entrance exams. They said that the final year was the most tiring but also memorable one, and the fact that she would miss all the fun with her bestie back in Tokyo left a bitter taste in her tongue. Hanako sighed as she walked to her classroom, the Pikachu key chain her friends gave her hanging quietly on her backpack.

Getting around Aoba Josai wasn't easy. Unlike schools in Tokyo where buildings squeezed together due to the limitation of space, Aoba Josai was much more spacious. A row of sakura tree stretched from the front gate till the very end, the snow-like petals dancing in the air. It was pretty, but her hay fever wouldn't allow her to enjoy the scenery. She sneezed all the way from the front gate to her class building.

Ironically, her name was Hanako, which means the daughter of flower. Whenever she was introduced to others, her friends would go 'This is Hyuga Hanako, she is allergic to her own name.'

Sakura blossomed a little late up north in Miyagi, the flowers in Tokyo should have already withered by now. The fact that she just moved here a few days ago meant that she would be experiencing a longer Spring season than usual, much to her dismay.

There were only a few people there when she reached her classroom. Hanako pulled down her face mask so she would look a little more approachable. It would probably be challenging to make friends in an place where social groups had already formed. But she still hoped to get along with her classmates. She had a lot of friends back in Tokyo, but she was slow in making friends so by the time she started to get along with people they would probably be heading off to college.

As she entered the classroom, the girls sitting at the front seats nodded at her direction, they then resumed back to their conversation, updating each other of what they had done during the spring break. This could have been me and Yuri-chan, Hanako sighed. The new school year had not even started yet and she already missed her old friends. Aoba Josai was not far from the elementary school Hanako attended, but she hadn't bumped into any familiar faces yet.

Her classroom was at the second floor, which was right beside the Sakura trees. If one looked outside of the windows, they would see nothing but fluffs of pink. Window seat was probably a bad idea. Hanako picked a back seat that was furthest from the window. She was glad that the windows were fully shut, it felt much better compared to staying outdoor.

As if reading her mind, the boy sitting beside the window decided let in some fresh...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Riding the wind, the Sakura petals flew into the classroom. Hanako pulled up the mask again as she sneezed violently. The boy seemed to notice that and shut the window immediately.

"Ah, my bad~" He apologized cheerfully, "should have asked before opening, it's still a little chilly."

"No worries. The weather is perfect, it's just that I have pollen allergy." Hanako waved her hand reassuringly.

His eyes widen at the statement, the boy stood up and walked to her. Her eyes were red and everything underneath that was covered by the mask, but he somehow recognized her.

"Oh my gosh! Sunflower-chan is that you?!"


	2. Crush

"He won't recognize me." Hanako waved her hand as she walked beside Oikawa. Her childhood friend had grown so tall that he stood out from the crowd wherever he went. Oikawa still very much looked the same, all smiley and happy go lucky. They had stopped a few times on the way to the gym as students (mostly female) approached him. It kinda felt like everyone in the school knew the volleyball captain.

"Wanna bet?" Oikawa smirked "I'm gonna go with Matcha Pocky that Iwa-chan recognizes you."

"Haagen daz, chocolate flavor." She returned confidently.

"Deal~ You're gonna be so broke, Hana-chan~"

Hanako snorted in amusement. She bumped into an old classmate in the bathroom earlier and the girl couldn't tell that it was her. Her appearance had changed so much in the past six years, there was no way that Oikawa could win the bet.

The gym building was used for new club members recruitment on the first day of school. Even though Aoba Josai had secured a good number of competent volleyball players from Kitagawa Daiichi middle school, they still set up a booth to search for potential candidates.

The place was crowded, boy's volleyball club was located right beside the front entrance, easily catching the attention of the passersby.

"Oi Slothykawa, You're late!" Iwazumi welcomed the new captain with a punch on his back. The others greeted him with a "yosh".

"Hi...is this the volleyball club?" She got a little nervous when all eyes landed on her. Iwaizumi lowered the application form in his hand as he turned to face Hanako. Like his captain, Iwaizumi had grown so much. The last time they met she was slightly taller than him, and now she had to look up to meet his eyes. Those fierce dark orbs were still the same, intense and unapproachable for people who did not know him.

His eyes laid on her for a moment...

"The girls club is on the other side of the gym, beside the band, you'll spot them right away." Iwaizumi offered helpfully, his voice showing no sign of recognition.

The Iwa-chan-nooooo expression on Oikawa's face was priceless. Hanako covered her mouth while a giggle escaped, eyes curled into two new moons as she smiled.

"Hanako?" Iwaizumi blinked.

Both of them turned to their childhood friend as he spoke.

"Took you long enough, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa slapped the back of his friend and gave Hanako a smug smile. She made a face but it was replaced by a grin right away. The girl was too happy to care that she just lost a bet.

"You didn't tell us you're back!" Iwaizumi still couldn't believe his eyes.

"How do you know it's me? No one recognizes me!"

"No one? What am I, a parrot?" Oikawa held his head with one hand and sighed dramatically.

"You saw my name on the class list, that doesn't count~" She laughed.

Iwaizumi did not notice that it was Hanako at the beginning, the girl looked so different. The pixie hair she used to have was now a long brown silk that reached down to her lower back. Chubby cheeks were gone too. Hanako looked almost like another person, but realization hit him when she smiled. Those new moons in her eyes were just too particular to miss, especially for someone who had done a lot of stupid things to make her laugh when they were younger.

Not that he was gonna admit it.

"Of course I recognize you, I mean...I've known you since we were at the age when Oikawa refused to go to the bathroom alone after watching horror movies"

"That sounds pretty recent to me." Matsukawa poked his head out from the booth to join the conversation.

"Oi, I stopped doing that looong ago!" Oikawa defended himself.

"Looong ago, like in middle school?" Matsukawa deadpanned.

"It's probably last year." Hanamaki offered.

"Hey!"

Hanako grinned, the club members seemed to get along pretty well. They hadn't stayed in contact for a very long time. She was a little surprised that the dual still sticked together, attending the same school and volleyball team. Many people she knew rarely hang out with their elementary school friends anymore, whether they lived in the same city or not.

"Alright now, you didn't bring lunch box today, did you?" Oikawa pushed the vice captain out of the booth and took away the application form in his hand. "Show Hana-chan around, she doesn't even know where the cafeteria is."

"It's fine if you guys are busy, I can ask aroun.."

Oikawa dismissed her concern and shoved them both to the exit. Before they left, the captain held Iwaizumi back by the shoulder, whispering on a volume that only his friend could hear.

"She just broke up with her boyfriend, here is your chance."

The taller teen gave him a wink and went back to the booth to join the others. Leaving a tomato red Iwaizumi and a very confused Hanako.


	3. Photo

Oikawa seemed to think that Iwaizumi still had a crush on Hanako. He couldn't quite agree with that.

He was head over heels about her when they were young. How could he not? Hanako was the one who walked extra miles to send him back during rainy days because he left his umbrella home. It was also her that brought snacks and comic books to his house when he broke his leg. These were fond memories that he would always treasure.

But life moved on.

The eagerness of wanting to see her everyday, the sour taste in his stomach when she was too close to any male friends in their little play group, and the smile on her face that could turn over a bad day, all these feelings were diluted as time passed and both of them went their separate ways. Hanako had dated a couple of boys after she left, and he had liked other girls too.

He still liked her, but as a friend.

* * *

"Takeru-chan, I'm homeeeeee."

The boy stopped what he was doing and looked towards the entrance. Both eyebrows raised as his uncle and friends entered the house. There was a new girl that he did not recognize.

"Is that your new girlfriend again, Toru?" Oikawa's nephew, who always behaved a decade older than he actually was, deadpanned.

Hanako chuckled, wondering how many girlfriends had he brought home in the past.

"That is very rude of you Takeru-chan. I am Uncle Toru, not just Toru." Oikawa whined, "and this is Hanako-san, she is my FRIEND."

Hanako placed her bag beside the sofa and looked around. The house was almost the same as she remembered. Hard wood floor covering the entire living room with the huge French windows at the side, allowing full view of the garden from the living room. She remembered sitting here with a couple of other kids to watch live volleyball competition. The only few things that had changed was the TV, which the old box-shaped one was replaced by the LED screen. And perhaps the size of the living room. Everything seemed to have shrunk, the room used to look much bigger when she was a tiny elementary kid.

She sat on the brown sofa, taking in the familiar yet foreign place she was currently at. Allowing the fuzzy feeling of nostalgic filling her heart.

"Hello there, Takeru-chan, want some poki?" She smiled warmly to the preteen who was only a toddler the last time they met. The boy looked at her intensely as if trying to figure out a puzzle, then his face lighted up, she could almost see the invisible light bub brightening beside his face.

"You're Hanako-san from the photo!"

He took down one of the photos hanging on the wall and showed her. There were three children in the picture, with Oikawa doing the ultra-man post while Iwaizumi posted as a dinosaur with his Godzilla T-shirt on. Hanako had a toy shuriken in her hand, she must be a ninja. The photo was taken when they were seven? Hanako couldn't help but laughed, she almost forgotten that the picture existed.

"Iwa-chan was bald, didn't you have chewing gun stuck on your hair and had to shave everything off?" Oikawa sounded too happy when he said that. Iwaizumi threw a pillow to his jerk of a friend as he joined Hanako on the sofa.

"All thanks to WHO?"

Hanako giggled, she almost forgotten about that too.

"Why not we do it again?" Oikawa suddenly said.

"Do what? Stuck more chewing gums on my hair?"

"That's a good ide...JUST KIDDING IWA-CHAN~~" The taller teen immediately took a step back when Iwaizumi gave him a deadly glare. He then pointed to the photo in her hand.

"I mean the photo! We can do a replication!" Oikawa exclaimed excitingly "I saw that on social media, people do replications of the older photos they took when they were younger. We can do that too since Hanako is back!"

With that, Oikawa went upstairs to get what they needed, leaving the two down at the living room. She grinned, seeing how excited Oikawa was made her felt like they were seven years old again. All the worries she had about attending a new school went away. For now, she's just happy.

It was nice to be back.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope everyone is doing well with what's going on around the world lately. I have been pretty stressed on the situation and haven't been looking into writing anything for the past few weeks. This chapter is short, but I hope it helps to cheer you up a bit. And thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Especially **Fairy-Stalkeuse**, you made my day!


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